All I can tell you is that, when it came to the NFL, we were wrong more than we were right.

Sure picking teams like the Patriots, Steelers and Broncos to do well was a no-brainer, even though the Steelers just barely eked into the playoffs, and did so with a banged up Big Ben.

And sure it was easy to predict that the Browns and Dolphins would suck… again. That’s what they do.

But no one in their right mind thought the Carolina Panthers would rattle off fifteen wins, in rather impressive fashion as well. Their over/under was 8.5. Only one of us, Mr. Burns of SportsAttitudes, picked them to win over that many. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Dr. Milhouse had them winning fewer than 8.5 games.

Most of us stayed away from the Arizona Cardinals as well. Their over/under, ironically, was also 8.5. They finished 13-3 and are playing Carolina in the NFC Championship Game. Only Dee Dee had the smarts to pick them over.

Not surprisingly, most of us also put far too much faith in the Dallas Cowboys and a whopping seven of us whiffed on the New York Jets, listing them to win under 7.5 games when they ended up winning ten.

Hold your horses. I know you’re anxious but no fast forwarding. We’ll get to the winner of our contest in a bit.

Listen carefully, gamblers. As you might recall, at the beginning of the season, I decided to see what would happen if I wagered $10 a game on every underdog money line to win outright. These, of course, were hypothetical bets. Fearing I would lose the short side of a grand, I decided only to track these numbers rather than actually bet on them.

As it turns out, I should have placed the wagers:

Week 1: 6 out of 16 underdogs won, weekly result -$23

Week 2: 9 out of 16 underdogs won, weekly result +$104

Week 3: 5 out of 16 underdogs won, weekly result – $44

Week 4: 4 out of 15 underdogs won, weekly result -$36

Week 5: 5 out of 14 underdogs won, weekly result +$14

Week 6: 7 out of 14 underdogs won, weekly result +$34

Week 7: 3 out of 14 underdogs won, weekly result -$59

Week 8: 5 out of 14 underdogs won, weekly result -$18

Week 9: 5 out of 13 underdogs won, weekly result +$17

Week 10: 10 out of 14 underdogs won, weekly result +$185

Week 11: 6 out of 14 underdogs won, weekly result +$8

Week 12: 7 out of 15 underdogs won, weekly result +$33

Week 13: 4 out of 16 underdogs won, weekly result -$20

Week 14: 5 out of 16 underdogs won, weekly result -$22

Week 15: 4 out of 16 underdogs won, weekly result -$72

Week 16: 8 out of 16 underdogs won, weekly result +$114

Week 17: 8 out of 16 underdogs won, weekly result +$71

Total hypothetically earned on the season: $276

Of course, history will teach us nothing other than the fact that maybe, just maybe, Las Vegas doesn’t know as much as we think they do.

Now… on to the real champions.

At the beginning of the season, I asked for your over/unders, assigning confidence points to each. It’s everybody’s favorite contest of the year. This year, we celebrate a new grand champion.

In reverse order, here are your standings:

Heavy D – 12 points (I’d offer him his money back but there was no entry fee. Besides, he’s a former winner and he just won his college football pool so much respect)

SportsChump – 18 points (There’s nothing like finishing in second to last place in your own contest. I’ll consider it a moral victory)

Joey – 21 points (Well, at least he wasn’t SportsChump bad)

Hanahan, Dr. Milhouse , Yaz, D – tied with 22 points (I’d suggest a Real World edition where these four all live together in the same house and pick football games incorrectly but I’m not sure there’s enough liquor to go around)

Ravenous – 30 points (I’d have to double check but I’m guessing Ravenous has the highest score in this contest if you average out all the years he’s entered)

Dee Dee – 32 points (Not bad considering she was knee-deep in Cubs baseball when making her picks)

Tied for second each, we have KP and Moose, which is ironic considering KP finished in second place in another one of my contests. DOUBLE ZING!!!

And I proudly present our new grand champion, the one they call Mr. Burns from SportsAttitudes with a whopping 38 points. He missed his ten-pointer but nailed seven out of ten correctly and that’s enough to take home the grand tamale.

And a special shout out goes to our college football pick ‘em contest winner, Lish, who passed with flying colors. Lish actually garnered a perfect score of 22 by projecting all four seeds right then Alabama over Clemson in the final game. At least someone’s watching.

T-shirts, prizes and bragging rights to all the victors and, as always, thanks for participating.

My time has come and gone and I feel privileged to have been a part of this contest !

If Calvin Johnson is seriously mulling over retirement , is there any chance Lions’ fans can ask for their money back and demand Matt Stafford returns more than half the money he’s been paid over the last five seasons ?

Lawrence Phillips died in his jail cell ? I see the Black Lives Matter organization didn’t feel it necessary to mourn his loss or even protest the circumstances of this death (apparent suicide) ? Damn ! LOL,LOL !!

Tom Brady has come out in support of Donald Trump and the Presidential candidate announces proudly that he’d love to have Sarah Palin become part of his administration should he become President. Seriously ? Palin as a future Secretary of State ? I can see Russia from here (Polk County) , but only from a map or when I use the Google Search web browser. LOL,LOL,LOL !!!

If Brady and the Pats down the Broncos in the AFC championship game, do you think Goodell will be happy ?

Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry should be required to undergo mandatory psychiatric evaluation . Look, I can understand the lure of Big D . But really , he wants to play for the Dallas Cowboys, alongside Dez Bryant and Tony Romo ? Isn’t that where NFL careers are now known to die a slow , painful and embarrassing death ?

No truth to the rumor, the Little Caesars’ Pizza chain will increase the prices of their pizzas to pay for all of the players now being acquired by the Detroit Tigers. Michael Ilitch as owner of the baseball franchise and pizza restaurant chain , can’t print enough money fast to pay for the salaries of the players now being acquired in free agency, as well the salaries of Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander for this upcoming season.